non - ajax: http_request.open('GET', url, false); http_request.send(null); return processSites(http_request.responseText); function showSites() { if (http_request) { num = getSites(iCounter+1,100,1) iCounter +=num; if (num==100) tmout = setTimeout(showSites,1000); else { document.getElementById("debugload").innerHTML = objectIx; iCounter = 0 } } } ajax: http_request.open('GET', url, true); http_request.send(null);